Spooky Spider Peanut Butter Cookies

Family-owned company Mayver's have come up with this fun and flavoursome low-sugar treat as a healthier alternative for kids who love Halloween and want to get into the 'spooky spirit'.

The recipes were made with Mayver's all-natural peanut butter, which are vegan and contain absolutely no added oil, sugar, gluten, dairy, cholesterol or hardened fats.

They're also made from nothing but natural ingredients and quality peanuts that are a great source of good fats, protein and key nutrients including potassium and magnesium.

Serve: 12
Gluten Free / Vegan

Cookie Ingredients
½ cup spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
¼ cup Nuttelex (or other vegan margarine/butter), melted
¼ cup Mayver's Dark Roasted Crunchy Peanut Butter
½ cup coconut sugar, heaped
2 tsp vanilla essence

Chocolate Ganache Ingredients
½ cup light coconut milk
125g quality dark chocolate
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp rice malt syrup
1 tsp vanilla essence

Bonus Ingredients

20g quality dark chocolate
24 cachous (ensure this is vegan friendly, ie. no shellac or gelatine)

Method
Begin with the chocolate ganache. On the stovetop, gently heat all the ganache ingredients until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and cool, before putting the mix in the fridge to set completely.
To make the cookies, first pre-heat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with paper. In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and a touch of salt.
Separately, whisk the coconut sugar with the melted vegan margarine (or alternative) and vanilla essence. Stir through the peanut butter until combined.
Mix the wet mix into the dry until a dough is formed – you may need to use your hands! Divide into 12 equal balls and flatten onto the prepared tray. Press your thumb into the centre of each cookies to create an indent. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, check the cookies – they may need to be gently indented again. Be careful! They'll be hot. Turn the tray around and bake the cookies for another 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely, before transferring to a wire rack.

Creating the spiders!
Once the cookies have completely cooled, it's time to decorate! Gently scoop small portions of ganache into each cookie indent. This is the head! Now, press 2 cachous into one side of the ganache to create eyes.
Next, melt the remaining 20g of chocolate, and, using a butter knife, drizzle 4 lines of chocolate onto each side of the ganache "head" to create legs. Put the cookies in the fridge to set the chocolate legs, before serving!

This delish recipe was provided by the talented Ashleigh Jane of Inner Pickle